Christmas Memory

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, I had a girl friend who lived down the street from me, whose parents owned race horses. We spent a lot of time playing at her house. She was an only child and as we had mostly boys in the neighborhood , Teresa and I spent many afternoons playing in her play house or in the horse trailers on her property. The horses however were not gentle and we didn't go around them at all but would stand on the fences and watch them run around the pens where they worked them.
A couple days before Christmas, they pulled up to my house with a horse drawn sleigh. It was a picture perfect night complete with softly falling snow. The horses had bells on their harnesses and we rode through the country roads tucked under warm blankets for an hour or so looking at Christmas lights. It was magical! Afterward, we went back to Teresa's house and had hot cocoa and animal cookies. I remember that we drank our hot chocolate out of real pretty tea cups with saucers. What a special memory their family gave to me. I have never forgotten it! Anyone else have any special memories of Christmas?

Thanks!

It was a nice Thanksgiving. I was glad that my dad and Joy came to spend a few days. I hadn't spent a holiday with my dad for about 9 years, so it was good to have them here. We ate lots of good food and visited about everything under the sun. (Especially my dad and Randy)
I have always loved Thanksgiving because there is no pressure to the holiday. You cook good food and then eat it for days on end. Ah, the pie!! Oh, the weight gain!! Also, it was good to have 4 days off. Now I think I can make it to Christmas! I just live for the holidays! We will have the whole family home for Christmas. Whoo-hoo!! I had better eat my wheaties!
My few words about the Civil War: it wasn't the team I have watched this season. My "conspiracy expert" say's to watch to see if they start building on to Reeser stadium. (the pay off has to go somewhere) Ha!!

Christmas!

I love Christmas! It is coming up at break-neck speed! I am bound and determined to have my Christmas shopping done by Dec. 1st. I haven't really enjoyed the holiday the last few years because it was so hectic. This is going to be a good Christmas. I want to bake goodies and enjoy my family. I want check out the lights and have hot chocolate and cookies afterwards! I want to watch lots of Christmas movies too!! It will be fun to have family home for the holiday and I hope to make lots of memories for everyone.
Now, as to the shopping, one of the things I am doing this year is food storage for everyone.
Please pick out anything that you would like and write it down in your message. I will do the best I can to give you some variety depending on what I can get case wise that is!
Canned corn, greenbeans, other....(write down)
Canned fruit, pears, peaches, applesauce, other...(write down)
Chili
Dry beans
Rice
Tuna
Canned milk
Tomato sause
Pasta
Oatmeal
Sugar or flour
Pick a few of these and I will see what I can do!

I Love Halloween

I love Halloween! When I was a kid we couldn't wait for Halloween to come. The grade school usually had a carnival with games and good food and then we would hit the sidewalks in search of that wonderful stuff called candy. We would take big sacks or pillowcases and go for hours and miles gathering treats. When I was about 11 or 12, two of my friends and I made up a little song and dance. People thought it was so cute they would not only give us lots of treats, they gave us money! I can't remember how much we made but it was sure fun! Can you imagine sending your children out into the night without an adult? No cell phone? My folks never knew where we were till we wandered back home with our huge sacks of candy. All six of us kids would dump our bags out on the front room floor and count and sort and trade with each other. It was a great night. Magical! Growing up in Idaho it was also usually cold but we didn't care. I think it actually snowed a couple of Halloweens! The candy we recieved on Halloween lasted us for a really long time. The apples and popcorn balls usually got eaten first.
What freedom we had then....you just didn't have to worry about your kids as much. I always went with my kids when they were young. Our world is no longer safe for kids to be out roaming at night on their own. It is sad! They don't get to experience that "Sandlot" life that I did.
Anyway, Happy Halloween to everyone! Have a fun night and be safe!

A Busy Year

I decided to list all the things that I done this year in my calling as Stake Young Women's President. I have two great councilors. My 1st councilor is due to have her 9th baby sometime around Thanksgiving and my 2nd councilor has 8 children. ( her youngest is 9) My secretary is older like me and we laugh all the time about the things we forget! (oldtimers I guess)
Anyway, here is an overview of our year in YW's.

Jan.: Stake Youth Winter Activity : the young men are over this one. We had a trek devotional, (we were preparing to have our first ever trek in June) and the YW supplied muffins and juice then we went roller skating. It was fun and the young men provided hotdogs, chips and cookies and punch for munchies.
Feb.: Leadership training. A light lunch and lots of visiting with all the presidencies.
Mar.: General YW Conference A good meeting! Cookies after!
Apr.: 2nd annual Stake Prom We serve a sitdown meal, good music and pictures free! Our theme this year was April in Paris. We even had an Eiffle tower with a garden setting and waiters to serve the couples that were there!
June: The Trek...36miles in 4 days. I thought they were crazy when they suggested that many miles but what a wonderful experience it was for our youth. Sometimes you have to suffer a bit to appreciate your life. Our stake is still talking about it and the testimonies that were given the Sunday after were really touching. Our youth will not forget it!
July: Summer Youth Activity, Trek Reunion...the youth were so happy to see each other and their ma's and pa's! Watched the video and pictures from the trek.
Sept.: American Idol Standards Night. Alot of fun! The evening was about the standards not the talent. Some of the contestents were: Questionable Ficks Hicks, Bucky"I'm so Lucky"Covington, Kelly"in a pickle"Pickler, ect...our Judges were so funny and the youth of our stake really enjoyed it. We had the music and everything including Ryan Secrets!! Alot of fun!
Oct.: Another Leadership training. It was good but hard to set a time when you can get everyone there. Also, two new ward presidencies called that we need to orient.
Now we slow down a little. We need the rest. Besides all of the above there were monthly, sometimes 2 a month presidency meetings and the first Thursday of the month is always a Stake YM/ YW meeting with a member of the Stake Presidency. We have also taught the lessons in all the ward conferences this year and have been the speakers on High Councilman Sundays in all the wards this year. I also forgot to mention the monthly stake dances that we usually all attend. We travel to Fossil and Monument for ward conf. which take up the whole day in travel alone. It is cool to go there though because they always feed us a pot luck meal or this year Monument made us each a sack lunch for the ride home. The saints in the branches are so cool, I love visiting them!
Anyway, this was my year in a nutshell as far as church goes. I still have 2 stake dances to go and December's is going to be on New Years Eve if the stake president ok's it!
I love my calling! It has been a fun year. I also work full time and had a senior with lots of activities to attend too! No wonder this year has gone by so fast! I think I better get to bed early tonight! Just writing this down has made me tired!!!

Seven Weird Facts about Mom

1. I hate the smell of Clorox or Purex especially if it is around food.

2. Ice cream does nothing for me. (2 years of working at a Dairy Queen) If I could only work in a chocolate factory I could whip that addiction too.

3. I got to be in a band. (in my forties) Can check that one off my teenage list. A little later in life than I had ever thought but it was a blast. Don't hear as well as I used to however!

4. When I was a senior in high school, I made a prediction that I would never marry a farmer or give birth to boys! (I have 4)

5. One Halloween, my dad had to come and get me and 2 of my friends from the police station for throwing eggs! (I had the only nice dad of the bunch) We were throwing eggs at our friends who were trying to shaving cream us!

6. When I was 17 Randy told me he would marry me and make me the mother of his children. My friends all laughed and laughed at that line he gave me. (we weren't even dating at the time)

7. I dream in color and hear music in my dreams alot of the time. If I can't remember a song, it will come to me when I am resting. I sleep best when I dream.

This isn't weird, but I love all my kids. My children and my son in law and wonderful daughter's in law. Not to mention my beautiful grandchildren. Can't wait to see everyone next week!

I am Lazy

I would much rather read everyone else's posts than write my own. I have had the whole summer, but spent most of it out in my yard, reading books, playing with grandkids, taking naps and cleaning house a little bit. I am now back at school. I am Mrs. Tovey again...although the little kids sometimes call me Mrs. Tubby! Not great when you are already aware of the fact that you need to loose some weight. Ha! I have a great job and work with some really fine people. The children are so cute and it is fun to see how they have grown over the summer. I imagine all of my grandchildren in school and I hope they have nice teachers that appreciate their uniqueness (don't know if I spelled that right) I hope the adults in their school are kind to them. I alway think about that when I have to deal with children...even when they are bad, somebody loves them alot. They need to be treated with respect and kindness if possible.
I also love fall and the weather here has been so nice. It is my favorite time of year. It just smells good! Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas! (It will be here before you know it)

Summertime Memories

I was a kid in love with summer vacation. We were always doing something fun. When I was in 5th grade we moved into a big ol' house across town that was surrounded by pine and lilac trees. It sat on 2 acres and even had a barn although we weren't allowed to have any animals in it. But what a fun place to play. We had apple trees and raspberries and a huge garden that we all hated to weed. My mom loved flowers and we had all kinds of peonys, iris and roses around the house and yard. We even had a special place with rock tables and benches and a huge lava rock fireplace. It was a fun place for kids and there was 6 of us and about 20 others from around the neighborhood. Everyone liked to play at our house. Our next door neighbor had a huge lawn and most nights we would be out there playing football, hide and seek or redrover untill the parents would be yelling at us to go to bed. Having large pine trees around the house also gave us bats! One of our favorite games was to throw a hat up high and the bats would swarm around it and once in awhile we would catch one. Most of the time we would just scream and dive to the ground so they wouldn't get us.
Most of the summer we slept outside. We had this old army tent my dad would put up sometimes but usually we just slept out on the grass or in bad weather on our huge front porch. Of course along with sleeping out came pajama parades and raiding peoples gardens for snacks. It was a carefree time. My parents didn't know where we were half of the time although one time a member of our ward mentioned to my dad that we had been by for carrots one night! There always seemed to be something to do. You could go to the swimming pool, ride bikes, walk places, read good books, and most importantly play with our friends!
Yes, I loved summer. We hardly ever watched tv and if you were in the house you would probably be given a job so it was better to be outside. (Not bugging mom) Sometimes I miss being a kid but I still get excited for summer vacation!

School's Out for Summer!

Feeling Old

I was going to make an excuse for not writing but the truth is I just haven't been in the mood. It has been about 3 or 4 weeks, (time is going by so fast) but I have had a bum wrist and a disc (in my lower back) that doesn't enjoy sitting for even short periods of time. It is just starting to get better though and I can type without my brace on my wrist. I was feeling so good after spring break and then all of a sudden.... I start feeling old. Aches and pains...I am not good with this. I like being able to get things done. I like to work as well as have fun and not hurt all the time. I have been blessed in my life with good health for the most part and will try harder to keep it that way.
Tamra is getting ready to graduate and it seems like the time has just flown by. We can't wait to see everyone and hope that the weekend is fun for all. Tamra is ready to be out in the world and I am already worrying about her. Hoping that we have prepared her to be on her own. One thing she can count on is having good brothers and a sister that she can rely on for support and advice if she will but ask. We are so blessed to belong to a good family where everyone gets along and loves each other. It overshadows even the aches and pains we have in this life. See you all soon!

Not Ready for the Quiet

It is quiet here. Tamra is visiting a "friend" in Estacada and Tucker, who has been home for spring break, is out visiting his new "friend". Randy is at the farm checking the water and I am here wondering how this time of my life got here so fast. I have had kids around for so long that I am not sure if I am going to like the quiet. I know people who have children that are grown and out of the house and they love it...I just know that my kids are the people I like to spend time with. I guess I will have to travel more. Randy does enjoy driving. Give him a map and he will find a new way to get to almost anywhere. I could borrow the grandchildren for a few days to help me appreciate the quiet. I am sure someone would agree to that! I have loved being a mother of 6 children. Some of my best memories are of my silly kids and the things they would do. Watching them all in various sports...listening to their music...drum practice, trumpet, piano, guitar and occasional french horn! Lots of laughing and some yelling, once in a while. (Mostly from me I'm afraid) I am a very lucky woman to have 6 good looking, talented, above average kids!!! (And a great husband to boot) I am thankful for the blessing in my life to have such a great family! I suppose I will get used to the quiet house and look forward to the noisy times when everyone comes home again.

Memories of the Beatles

Ah yes, I remember waiting patiently for the
Ed Sullivan show to see the Beatles. I was the oldest of six and I believe I was in the 6th grade. It was so exciting...I loved their music and their hair!! We listened to the radio nonstop and bought as many records as I could afford. When I was in the 7th grade a "Hard Days Night" came to our movie theater and about 10 of us went and sat down front fairly close. There were'nt too many people there on a Saturday afternoon but a few obnoxious boys but I remember sitting there with my little heart pounding and this is almost embarrassing but I think I acually had tears in my eyes at times. We were jumping up and down and the boys were throwing popcorn at us!!! It is funny to look back on that. Music has always played such a big role in my life. If my life had a soundtrack, for every memory, there is a song. My first kiss (on the cheek) dancing to "Yesterday"...Listening to the whole album of "Rubber soul" on the telephone with my boyfriend of the moment! (Good thing the folks were bowling) Even my husband has a Beatle song attached to him from "Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" I can't hear one of their songs that I don't remember a time or a place or a feeling. It was music you could sing along to. I liked all of them but George was my favorite. "While my guitar gently weeps" is one of my all time favorites. I could go on and on but I had better call it quits for now.
(Now I have Beatle songs running through my head!!!)

Flat Belly Diet

I have been on this "Flat Belly Diet" now for a couple of weeks and have lost 8lbs so far. It hasn't been hard at all untill today and for some reason the toast at school this morning smelled so good, but I didn't have any. I ate my oatmeal & almonds. Then at lunch the hamburgers, fries really looked great but I was having a healthy chef salad...plus for the last 2 days I have been passing out chocolate orders (Worlds Finest ) from a fundraiser our school had. It has been a rough couple of days. I havn't been too bad although I did have 2 mint meltaways....and they were delicious! I am not going to get discouraged. I need to get rid of my extra weight. I guess that is why I am writing this little note. I am going public with my weight loss program as a tool to stay on track! This really is an interesting diet and I feel good so far. It is a diet that targets the belly area and was mainly designed for older ladies but I think it would work for most anyone. Anyway, I will keep you posted on my progress.

Wild weekend!

What a wild weekend we had. Tucker and a friend, Josh, came home for a couple of days . We miss Tuc when he is gone. He is always singing or making us laugh. He has a new toy. He bought a megaphone that makes all kinds of noises like sirens and other obnoxious sounds. Now he can be louder than anyone else! (like he isn't already) Did I mention that it also records voices so you can play it over and over? All for the amazing price of $7.99. I guess when you are a poor college student you have to find fun at the right price. It was good to have him home but he sure didn't feel good. Has that nasty cold and cough. Tamra seemed to enjoy getting to know Josh however....We all stayed up too late Fri. and Sat. so today at church it was really hard to pay attention. In Relief Society the good sister that taught the lesson was putting me to sleep and I was so afraid she would look and me and see my eyes roll back in my head as I slumped over in my seat. Just kidding but I hate that tired feeling. I'm just getting older! Can't keep up with the teenagers any more. Whew!!

My Baby Girl

Tamra turns 18 years old on the 18th in 2008! It is a big year for her and me. I know it sounds dumb but people say it all the time: Time goes so fast! I can still see her running around the house without any clothes on! She had the curliest dark hair and cute chubby body. Now she is tall and slender and beautiful and ready to take on the world. (In a few more months) I can remember being 18 and unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. I am glad she has more confidence in herself than I did at her age. Do you ever wish you could go back and redo somethings in your life? When I was a graduating, my guidence councelor offered 3 career paths...a teacher, nurse and of course a mom. I am so glad that my girls had a chance to play sports and have career choices in their lives if they want. I would not trade my family for anything. It has been my career choice. Still, I wonder how it would feel to be a teacher or nurse! Some would say that it is not too late to get an education but I am still waiting to decide what I want to be when I grow up. I guess I'll be a mom!

It's a Start!

I did not get the writing gene that blessed several of my siblings and most of my children but I am going to give this a go and see what happens. I guess most of the time I don't feel like my life is all that interesting. I could have titled this " My Mundane Life".

I have been married for 34 years and have 6 wonderful children. I love being a grandma and constantly amazed by the love I feel for these little children that have been born into our great family. Besides being a grandma I work at A.C.Houghton Elementary School where all my children spent their grade school years. I love my job most of the time. I work with a great staff and the children for the most part are wonderful. One thing that I have learned since working at the school is that you can't underestimate the importance of a good family on children. We see too much of what happens to children that don't have a good solid foundation. It is so sad. For some of our children, their best part of the day will be at the school where they will be fed and adults will be kind to them. I feel like I need to be there...

I am also a Stake YW's President so I have lots of resposibilities there also. Dances, activities, trainings, A Pioneer TREK!! We shall see if I survive this 26 mile march! Whew! I am a busy, active woman and hope to find time to write a bit now and then.